This invention relates to high fiber content bread and extruded edible products.
After a review of the most recent research on nutrition, the USDA has published a report on "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" that recommends a diet: higher in fiber, lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol; that replaces simple carbohydrates (sugar) with complex carbohydrates (starch); and lower in sodium. "These suggestions are especially appropriate for people who have other risk factors for chronic diseases, such as family history of obesity, premature heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels, or for those who smoke."
Since the benefits of a high fiber diet alone are so numerous, reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes, reduces or eliminates the need for insulin by diabetics, reduces the risk of large bowel cancer, improves bowel functions, etc., the consumer is being encouraged to include foods higher in both crude and dietary fiber in their diets. There are an increasing number of high fiber foods and supplements being formulated and presented to the public. Very few of these fiber bases that meet the desired nutritional criteria have been found suitable for bread formulations. Not only has there been a problem encountered obtaining desired eating qualities, people will not eat bread for dietary purposes alone, but most fibers do such deleterious things as restrict volume and cut the dough during mixing stages of bread preparation or do not provide proper absorption. For example, it is common knowledge in the baking industry that even the ever popular whole wheat kernel has an acrid tasting aleurone layer that is removed with the fiberous hull; which is one of the reasons white flour was developed and maintains it popularity.
Even though it is old to fortify bread with protein supplements, a problem has been encountered in obtaining the desired excellent eating qualities. For example, supplementing the protein level in bread with soy flour or soy isolates adds nothing to the flavor and if anything tends to produce a product with a slight offtaste. Adding milk protein to bakery formulations at this point would add nothing unique to the flavor.
The consumer is looking for more natural type foods or foods void of chemical additives, such as mono and diglycerides, calcium sulfate, stearoyl 2 lactylate and L cysteine, required to make an acceptable loaf of bread following many bakery formulations. Those with lactose intolerence must have product free from milk based ingredients, e.g. whey, whey protein concentrate, nonfat dry milk, etc. Therefore, eliminating the need to add milk or milk replacers to improve crust color, boost protein levels, etc. is desirable in health oriented bakery products. And finally, bakers require a specialty type high fiber bread be reproducable.
There are many high fiber breads on the market today made from such things as whole wheat, flax seeds, microcystalline cellulose (wood), etc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,170 to Satin discloses using yellow and green pea hulls to formulate a bread having the color, texture and flavor of white bread with the fiber and nutritional content of whole wheat bread. This was done through the addition of 5 to 20 parts by weight of pea hulls ground to a particle size that will pass through a 20-80 mesh screen inclusively. Satin found pea fiber ground to a smaller than 80 mesh screen size undesirable for bread making contributing an off color, aroma and flavor.
Moscow Food Ind. Inst. (U.S.S.R. Pat. No. 867,353) describes a method for hydrothermally treating (pre-cooking) peas to improve bread quality when the peas are added to bread formulations at the 5-20% level. Comer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,179) found the bitter flavor can be removed from pea flour by contacting the flour with steam. Both patents relate, in a broad sense, to the production and application of pea power.
Glabe (U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,061) describes a method whereby seed coats are washed with an acid, dried and ground to be added to bread to decrease the caloric content.
Tsantir (U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,423) developed a low calorie bread through the addition of a finely divided mixture of rice hulls and soy bran hull.
In U.S. Pat. 4,109,018 to Thompson, there is disclosed a low calorie bread made from a dough composition that per 100 parts by weight of wheat flour includes 3 to 9 parts of protein material selected from lowfat soy flour, nonfat dry milk, dried yeast flour and cottonseed fiber and 10 to 20 parts alpha cellulose flour. U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,179 to Schmidt discloses using a milk substitute in making bread that includes pea flour in the amount of 2% to 3% by weight of the wheat flour and sweet dairy whey.
Triticale, a cross between wheat and rye, after having been marketed for use in bread, snacks and other cereal based food items for over a decade, has failed to make an impact on the human food market despite the fact it combines many of the better characteristics of wheat and rye including high nutritional value and adaptability to adverse growing conditions. With reference thereto whole triticale flour (without separation of bran) has been mixed with wheat flour and also triticale flour with bran removed has been mixed with wheat flour to make bread, however such prior art efforts have not resulted in being able to prooduce a commerically acceptable bread.
Peas are available colored by chlorophyll (green) or xanthophyll (yellow). Succulent peas having been dried can be separated into the following fractions, each fraction having its own specific and differing characteristics:
Pea flour--whole peas ground PA0 Pea powder--pea flour cooked PA0 Ground pea cotyledons PA0 Pea cell wall--a material extracted from inside the pea PA0 Ground pea hulls--outer shell of the pea ground PA0 Pea protein isolate PA0 Pea starch
Pea flour has been available to the baking industry for a decade or so, but to the best of applicants knowledge has not prior to applicants invention been successfully marketed for use in bakery items at above the 3% level because the flavor, texture, volume and aroma of the final product has not been acceptable to the consumer.
In order to minimize or overcome problems such as indicated above as well as to provide a premix that premits the production of bakery items that meet all the new dietary guidelines established by the U.S. Government, is versatile enough to make bread, rolls, buns, tea biscuits, croissants and almost any bakery item of this type as well as various extruded edible products and that contributes those organoleptic properties making the product acceptable to young and old alike, this invention has been made.